Keeping me human
by Razorbatz
Summary: Kyouma finds himself working for the D.E.B. as their own version of a collector. With the help of Mira he sets out to locate a mysterious substance that is said to have come from Dimension W.
1. Chapter 1

Kyouma found he liked lurking in the Dimensional Administration Bureau's warehouses.

It had become a force of habit, of sorts. They had given him and Mira their own living space, earned by his hard work. But when his mind got restless he left it behind in favor of one of the cold warehouses. He lied down on a platform that extended from the second floor and observed the starry night in silence. It reminded him of the time when he had been so lost and confused on Easter Island. In a place that should not even exist. It reminded him of some better times, too and even the simpler ones. Sometimes it even brought a smile to his face. Most of the time it brought tears.

He still wondered if some day, maybe, he'd be able to live without this cursed nanosuit keeping him alive. He imagined how things would have turned out had he not been wearing it. The doctors had told him that the suit was the only thing keeping him alive. That it had embedded itself into his every life threatening wound. Sealing his wounds with itself. How much of himself was him anymore?

To add to his Easter Island problems. He was still not sure about his life, about his past, present, and future.

Was the recovery house still fighting a never-ending war against illegal Coils? What about Mary? Did she think he abandoned his contract? Or,worse. Died? Did she care?

Was what he learned back on the island true? Or had it been a cruel dream created to bring him peace?

What was New Tesla going to do with him? Why did they save his life? Would he be allowed to roam free as long as he completed their errands? Why did they allow him to keep Mira?

He had no answers and he knew he never would. With each passing day, even the slim hope he might have had of things returning to normal was lost and all he could do was treasure the life he had right now.

But it's not that simple when the fourth axis plane is involved.

He still worried. About the illegal Coils and New Tesla Energy and about Mira too. He worried about many things, but he couldn't help himself. Before, he would shoot some of his fears down with cold hard logic. It had both its advantages and disadvantages, but it more or less helped him hold irrational fears at bay. Normally, he managed on his own just fine, but not always.

Sometimes, all he could do was stay up until late night hours and think about various different scenarios, desperately searching for viable solutions for the many potential problems that plagued him.

Great. Now he was becoming Mira.

And of course, he never found answers.

Sighing Kyouma closed his eyes. The only sound in the night was the rumbling sound of the Energy Tower.

Suddenly, a metallic sound rang out, the way it would if somebody knocked down a toolbox hanging precariously on the edge of a counter. It startled him, to the point that he reflexively reached for his needles that the nanosuit held within itself, then narrowed his eyes in the direction where the sound had come from.

The light of the stars was lost behind the clouds, hiding the visitor deep in shadows. However, what followed it was a sound of somebody hastily putting the tools back where they'd come from as they swore and that eased Kyouma's mind a bit. But not enough to lower his weapons. They caught the moonlight and glimmered in the darkness

As if the mysterious visitor had only noticed his presence then, he heard a gasp, followed by a shout.

"There you are! Don't go anywhere!"

The voice was one that he knew well. He resisted the urge to laugh, instead turning so that his feet dangled from the platform.

"Have a nightmare, Mira?" he asked, with a straight face.

She walked out of the warehouse and across the platform until she was standing surprisingly close to the edge, allowing the light of the stars to illuminate her skin. There was a somewhat guilty smile on her face while she played with her fingers.

"You know robots don't dream, Kyouma."

"Normal robots don't," he said. "I remember you having a similar experience when we visited a lake."

"And I remember someone being a jerk that entire trip."

He nodded. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"S-Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" she replied immediately, face heating up. "What are you doing here? And at this hour, no less?"

"It's late. Shouldn't you be at home?" he asked instead.

"Ugh, no! Don't answer a question with another question!" she returned. However, as Kyouma tilted his head, she continued in a much more level voice, "Uh, I got worried about you. It's cold outside and you didn't bring a jacket."

She laughed awkwardly. Then held up a red jacket that looked similar to his old kimono.

"I see…"

Several seconds passed, during which they looked at each other in silence. Mira was the first to look away.

Kyouma wasn't sure whether to sigh or smile. Her presence, while unexpected, wasn't exactly unwanted. She had long since proven herself to be a great source of friendship when she wanted to be. And he figured that was the kind of thing he needed, especially at times like these.

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

She put her hands to her hips and pouted, tail waving back and forth behind her.

"You think I came out here thinking you weren't? I'm only here to give you the jacket."

Kyouma glanced down towards the jacket in his hands. Well, it was missing the zipper. So it was more of a sweater to be honest. A sweater with a large opening in the front. As he studied it more he noticed the imperfections in the stitching as well. And how lose the thread was around it.

"Maybe... " he trailed off as a shooting star appeared as fast as it disappeared. "Maybe you're right."

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that she looked as if she wanted to say something more, but didn't. Instead, she waited in silence for him to get up, with an ever shy smile that he'd gotten so very used to seeing on her face.

They walked back to their apartment in silence. Mira focused on the stars that lit up the night sky and Kyouma on the ground under his feet.

The pale red light that followed the metal walkway merely added to the darkness, lighting up their surroundings enough to show the next step, but not enough to light up the way.

Naturally, it meant that Mira had to trip over something.

"Who just leaves things lying out like this?" Lifting the box with a sigh, she carried it out of the way, all while grumbling something under her breath.

Kyouma leaned against a railing that overlooked the entire compound, watching her in amusement as he absently reached for the ear peace he kept with him at all times. Something the D.A.B. required of him.

Having placed the box as out of the way as she could, Mira joined him by the railing, leaning her head on her arms.

They remained that way for a few silent moments, Kyouma leaning his back on the railing while Mira gazed towards the main building.

It felt strange, in a way. There was nothing oppressive or uncomfortable about the silence, it was the exact opposite. So, in hindsight, it puzzled him that he'd actually decided to break it to overcome these very things.

"Mira."

"Kyouma?"

He closed his eyes and leaned forward over the railing.

"What is it Kyouma?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

Mira was quick to respond however. "No, no! If there's anything on your mind, you should say it. I thought you trusted me enough for that?" Without giving him a chance to answer, she continued in a lowered voice. "You looked a bit sad, back there, you know? You were smiling, but… you looked sad. Not the Kyouma I'm used to."

He never thought of the word 'sad' as a fitting description of how he looked or felt. Sure it fit. But he never actually looked for something to define it all. Sure she was right. But she was also wrong. What was it he felt? Guilt? Pain? Anger? How could she know him?

"Is it because of Miyabi?"

His muscles tightened. It was funny how she knew how to ask all the wrong questions at the right time, with such an innocent face.

"Kyouma?"

She wasn't backing down.

"I'm all right. It's… just… well, think of it as me worrying about things that I can't change. Things about me while not being able me.

She seemed to think about that for a moment. "But if you can't do anything, why worry so much? Isn't that illogical?"

He slumped further over the railing.

"No! That's not...Well, maybe. But that's not what I meant." She looked away, focusing on the distant horizon while a gust of wind blew her green hair backwards. "I just don't want you to be sad. That's all Kyouma."

Kyouma's hold on the railing tightened.

As much as he tried to make it through the days without making it obvious, there was still a longing, for his partner and friend who had been everything he could have possibly ever asked for. But that was in the past and it would be wrong to say that he didn't cherish the life he had now as much as, or even more than the life he'd had before. Mira was right. It was illogical for him to think this way. But he couldn't just forget the past.

He couldn't just kiss it goodbye.

Feeling something brush his shoulder, he turned, only to find Mira's face millimeters from his own and coming closer. Their lips touched for a few seconds before she pulled away, burying her face in her hands.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to!"

He thought for a moment that she'd said something that sounded like 'supposed to have been the cheek!', but that might have been his imagination. Nevertheless, his lips curved into an involuntary smile.

A moment later, he realized that, while she had moved away, she was still much closer than she'd originally been.

He clenched his fists.

"Mira…"

"Huh? What?" she asked, peeking through her fingers, but as if she'd only then realized how close they still were, she moved a step back, and then another. Then began playing with her fingers. "Umm, I…"

"Thank you."

Mira blinked. "What?!"

He smiled.

"What… what for?" she asked.

The truth was, there were many things he wanted to thank her for. Her friendship, for one, but also her understanding and company even during the moments he would have preferred to be alone. To be honest he suddenly found he had a list of things to thank her for.

He settled for one word that he found to work the best in the context and a simple gesture he'd never attempted, but nevertheless found to be appropriate.

"Everything."

Taking her hand in his, he got on a knee and lightly touched it with his lips.

She looked lost, for a moment, maybe even a bit surprised. But the moment passed, leaving only a familiar smile on her face.

She tightened the hold on his hand, threading their fingers together before turning towards the sky and the first hints of the rising sun.

"You're welcome Kyouma."


	2. Chapter 2

It was a very large room compared to what he was used to spending his time in. A study, the kind of study every middle-aged men could only dream of, with a huge varnished mahogany desk and a high backed leather chair. It all seemed unnecessarily intimidating to Chris, who was sitting on a tiny metal folding chair in front of the desk, his briefcase clutched tightly to his chest.

Chris checked his watch for the umpteenth time. He had come over early to impress his new...friend?...comrade?...employer?...that sounded right. It was now way past the agreed upon meeting time. Just as he was considering whether to give up and leave, the door behind him opened and a tall young man strode in, head high, his over-conditioned hair rippling with every movement. He was flanked by two identically dressed men, each equipped with an automatic rifle.

The young man flung himself into the leather chair, propping his feet on the table and looking down his nose at Chris.

"Well?" he said to the older man. "Impress me!"

Chris stood up quickly to show off his plans. In his haste, he stumbled and fell, scattering the blueprints across the room. His young benefactor's laughter echoed in Chris' ears as he gathered his things.

"Loser! Is this the best you can do?"

Chris' face flushed red with anger. He looked up and glared at the youth, who continued laughing.

"I hear tell that you lost another one of your exploits last week Tobias. And what a grand fit you put on afterwards."

That snapped the youth's jaw shut. "H-how do you know this?"

"How many consecutive failures does that make? Five? Twelve? Oh that's right, twenty five. Did you even get a chance to stow her memory before you gave the burn order?"

Chris smiled wickedly at the sheer magnitude of angy expressions that flashed across the youth's face.

"So?" Tobias spat out finally getting himself under control. Face a bright shade of tomato. "What's your point?"

"I could help change that." Chris answered slowly patting his briefcase. He wanted the words to sink in.

"How?"

"With science, of course."

"Bah!" Tobias threw up his hands in frustration. "And what do you call all I've been doing? Do you think I haven't given every single avenue a try till its last breath? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

As if on cue, Tobias' guards stepped forward, rifles raised.

"W-w-wait!" Chris scrambled across the floor out of their reach. Reaching into his briefcase he pulled out a couple papers and threw them on the desk.

"These plans you see before you," Chris gestured dramatically at the desk. "They are designs for a formula. A formula that can achieve what your crackpot scientists, and I use the world lightly, have failed to pull off for three and a half years."

"Formula?" Tobias leaned forward and glanced at the papers. "You sound like some kind of crazy Doctor Frankenstein."

Chris smirked and whispered. "Something like that…"

Feeling back in control of the situation, he sat back down in the small chair.

"You want this, don't you?" he asked. "A sure way to succeed at your heart's desire?"

"Oooh yeah!" Tobias exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "You haven't been going through my diary have you?"

"Diary?"

"Yeah…" Tobias breathed, staring at the wall. "You may continue."

"All I need is your funding and I can make it happen." Chris explained. "We can make it happen. Together."

"And what proof do I have that you can fulfill your end of the deal?"

With a smirk, Chris pulled out a revolver from his briefcase and promptly shot one of the guards in the heart.

"What!" Tobias screamed, jumping to his feet.

The other guard immediately moved in front of his young charge, focusing his rifle at Chris' head. "On the ground!"

Obediently, Chis got on his knees and dropped the revolver.

"W-why would you do that? What is wrong with you?" Tobias screeched from behind the remaining guard.

Chris only chuckled. "I'm ensuring your investment."

"By killing my bodyguard?!"

"Yes, that was part one. If you'd let me finish. I'll show you the next part."

After a moment, Tobias nodded for the guard to lower his rifle.

"Thank you. Now then back to business."

Chris knelt next to the dead guard and retrieved a lone syringe his lab coat. "As we all know, this guard is very much...deceased. As is the case of the one you've been trying to resurrect."

"Yeah so?"

Chris held up a hand. "Just watch."

He inserted the needle into the man's left forearm, releasing it's contents. Within seconds, the bullet wound was no more. Within minutes, the guard was sitting up and resting against a wall.

Tobias scratched his chin. "Okay, I guess you have yourself a deal. But one question. Will this really work?"

"Excellent question. While it is true that your comrade was brought back. It'll take more effort and research to bring back your desired. Who's been dead much longer."

Tobias cringed.

"Nothing to worry about though. The properties of Dimension W have more than proved themselves."

"Indeed."

A slow maniacal smile spread across Chris' face. "Excellent. I'm glad you're on board. You won't be disappointed." He laughed, a small throaty chuckle that rose in pitch and volume and was downright diabolical.

"I'd better not be." Tobias muttered as Chris continued his laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Kyouma had been staring at Mira's sleeping face, listening to her soft, purring snores. Mira's lips were slightly parted and her bangs covered both eyes. He was still impressed at how realistic her standby mode was. It was like she really was sleeping as deeply as a human.

"Hey, come in here and take a look at this." Albert called into the hall from his office.

Yawning, Kyouma obeyed. Allowing himself to be dragged into the cramped space by a vibrant Mira.

"What, no hello?" Kyouma asked, strolling into the cramped space. Per usual, Albert was hunched over his desk with his back to the door. It seemed like the man had no use for the comfy recliner sitting across from him.

Albert stopped inspecting the papers on his desk and turned to glare. "Would it hurt you to help every once in a while?"

Kyouma shrugged. "It might."

Albert threw another glare Kyouma's way at the reply. "Well excuse me for insinuating that you would want to aid me in our shared career. Thought you'd be estatic to hear I found us a case."

"Hmm?" Kyouma leaned forward, eagerly scanning the page that Albert had in his hand. He was up for anything that would distract him from the thoughts coursing through his head.

"So, how does this involve us?" Mira said, scanning the papers. "It's under Federal authority according to this. So why do you have us investigating?"

"Agreed." Kyouma said. He picked up another file. "Seems pointless to involve so many with something so inconsequential."

"You're a dog Kyouma, you should know that by now." Albert replied. "You do what we need done."

Mira gave a look of discomfort at being called a dog.

"Yeah, okay. But what I meant, is that this case says it is for higher clearance personnel only. Like you said, I'm just a dog, not a person of importance. You lot don't even let me leave this place without a babysitter."

"Cases marked with higher rankings are allowed to be looked upon by dogs too, if deemed necessary by a ranking officer."

"But this case doesn't give any clear details. And what's more, it's not just one file. There's multiple different occurances here." Mira said, as Kyouma skimmed more of the report. "Would you mind explaining more of our purpose in this?"

Albert sighed before sitting on the desk's edge. "If it means we can get on with this.'

'So, as you can read in the main report before you. A girl disappeared from the slums on the outer edge of town. Nothing new. Happens all the time. Most of these are of the same thing."

"Agreed. There's no reason to call us in." Kyouma nodded. "For all we know she could have run away from home or took an unexpected vacation without telling anyone."

Shaking his head, Albert sighed with frustration, "All the same, your services have been requested by the Government's Police Force. The family of the one detailed before you is expecting you."

Kyouma raised an eyebrow. "Me?" He was still scrolling skeptically through the paperwork, doubtful that this job will be as easy as posting missing posters on milk cartons.

Albert strolled to the door and reached to close it. However as he did so, a lone laminate paper dropped onto the floor at Kyouma's feet. He continued on without turning around. "The GPF insist that it is just a show of goodwill and interagency cooperation. So don't go off and do anything stupid."

He closed the door behind him.

"That was weird." Mira muttered. "But it is good to hear that all these companies are working together for the greater good."

"Don't be stupid," Kyouma said, motioning towards the paper he picked up.

"What's that?"

"Our dear friend Albert deserves more credit than I give him." He pointed to a part near the center.

Mira leaned over and grabbed the paper from Kyouma. Then arched her eyes skeptically at him. "Really? A killer cat? What, did something escape from the zoo?"

Kyouma sighed and flipped the paper over.

Mira stared at the sentence. "She's sure that's what she heard?"

"Only one way to find out." Kyouma grinned. He grabbed his jacket and was halfway down the hallway before Mira could react.


	4. Chapter 4

Mira climbed out of the car when they finally reached the house. It was an old, Victorian styled place. The front lawn was surrounded by manicured shrubbery, trimmed to perfection down to the centimeter. Past them was a small arrangement of trees hunched over and dark from the winter weather they found themselves in. Decorating the house was an assortment of christmas lights that ended in a pile strewn across the porch in an untidy manor. Everything was so calm and peaceful, it certainly didn't appear the place for a woman to disappear.

Mira glanced over at Kyouma. "It looks like she was putting up holiday decorations. Might be a good starting point."

Kyouma got out of the car, sticking the keys in his pocket. "Yeah, sounds like as good a place as any. But let's look around the inside first. I'd be surprised if something did happen on the porch. Looking around this place. It would be hard pressed for someone not to notice a girl being jumped out in broad daylight. If you get my drift."

Mira nodded, looking around the neighborhood. Further up the street, standing in the park, was a group of middle aged adults who were deeply involved in conversation as they watched the two. It was clear they weren't too keen on seeing the two detectives. Maybe Kyouma was right. And this was more than a simple disappearance.

They went up to the house together, Kyouma covering Mira while she accessed the house's security system to get in. The street the house was on was a smaller one. One of the oldest in the neighborhood. There were only three other houses near, and each of those were a few lots away from this one. Though secluded, he knew from experience that letting your guard down at any time could lead a person into a world of hurt.

He heard the electronic locks release the door, and slipped in behind Mira. The door closed quietly behind them. From the looks of things, the house hadn't been touched yet by the family or roommates. Since she had only disappeared the other day, everything had been left alone for the police to investigate without hindrance. And the two roommates had been relocated to the residence of a friend. The cops didn't really think it was the scene of a crime yet. Since there was no sign of anything out of place or forced entry. No signs of any struggle either. It was becoming more and more likely it was their kind of thing after all. Though that still didn't explain the GPF getting involved.

They made their way through the house to the backyard. Standing on the porch, Kyouma surveyed the yard for anything out of the ordinary, like killer cat demons. But was surprised to find it fraught with mounds of dirt and debris.

"What's going on out here?"

Mira followed his gaze. "The roommates warned that they were working on an addition to the house."

"What are they adding on?" Kyouma inquired, kneeling next to the pit which led to the edge of the porch. "Does this house really need to be any bigger?"

"I believe they said a sunroom was the desired attachment."

"Yeah...totally needed." Kyouma rolled his eyes. "Man, these girls were definitely living the life."

Mira cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Kyouma shook his head. "How's the scans going?"

"Aside from a few low level blips that can be attributed to the security system, there is nothing to indicate the presence of anything Numbers or Coil related." She kneeled on the floor, her tail slowly bobbing behind her as she closed her eyes. "This disappearance happened three days ago?"

Kyouma nodded, looking at the photos the girls had around the entryway. "Yeah, around noon according to what the roommate who had gotten the phone call had said."

"So if there is anything here. It should still show."

"Yeah, you would think." Kyouma agreed, eyeing a shelf full of trinkets. "But just like how no one found her phone. We can't find anything on the matter either."

Mira nodded.

"Well, how about you go check upstairs. Maybe there's something in one of the girls' rooms. I'll stay here and see if we didn't miss anything."

He watched Mira climb the long spiral staircase, listening to the stairs creak under her heavy footsteps. Then, with a sigh, he went back through the main floor inch by inch. But nothing on the floor jumped out at him. Nothing was out of place, everything was neat and orderly. The floors shined and the windows gleamed. To be honest, the place was so darn clean it bordered on creepy.

After another hour of searching, Kyouma found himself back in the living room. Nothing. No blood. No killer cats. No struggle. Nothing but a small box on the sofa. Kyouma did a double take. There on the center cushion, sitting where he could have sworn there was nothing a few minutes ago, was a small azure box.

Suspiciously, he walked over to the rectangular glass coffee table sitting in front of the sofa. Looking around to see if anything else had changed.

"Mira?" He called out, wondering if the bucket of bolts had somehow put it there when he wasn't looking. But then...he hadn't heard her come down the stairs since they split up. With how old this place was, it was hard to walk quietly. Each step he took caused a series of unavoidable creaks. So there was no way he wouldn't have heard his much heavier partner coming down.

Wondering if maybe he'd just not noticed the box the first twenty times he'd come through, Kyouma leaned down closer to the couch, giving it a closer look. It looked like something a piece of jewelry would come in. There was no note attached or anything discriminating on any visible surface. He looked around the room warily, then reached for the box, curious if there was anything on the inside that could tell him where it came from. Or at least who it belonged to.

The second his fingertips touched the box, the lights in the room flickered. Kyouma jumped back in surprise, pulling out a couple knives out of his jacket. A woman in a white dress appeared across the table from him, flickering in the daylight. Blood oozed from her destroyed mouth as she stared at him with her empty eye sockets.

"What in the-"

She glared at Kyouma. "I keep telling you. You'll never have him. Never. Never. Never. Why won't you just die?"

"Him?" Kyouma took a step forward.

"He's MINE!" She screeched. At the last word, she angrily thrust her arms toward him, and pulled him face down against the table. Groaning, he was then slammed backwards through the air, crashing through the door of the study.

The last thing he remembered thinking before blacking out, was how much he could never get used to being thrown through glass objects. Kyouma had been tossed into a lot of glass and wood in his life. And it never really got easier.

Upstairs, Mira was having no more luck than Kyouma was. Nothing was out of place in any of the bedrooms, and she was just finishing a sweep of the guest bathroom when she heard a commotion downstairs. There was a screeching sound that she couldn't make out. And then a series of crashes.

Poking her head out of the door, she called out, "Kyouma? Is that you?"

There was no response to her call.

Feeling a strand of worry, she rushed out of the room and jumped over the second story railing to the floor below. "Kyouma?"

Upon reaching the bottom floor, Mira heard a buzzing noise coming from inside her head. The Coil detector was reacting to something in the house. She felt her distress skyrocket. Something bad was happening.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mira caught sight of something out of place. "No, no, no." She muttered, practically racing over to the study. Her eyes widened when she realized she wasn't imagining things.


	5. Chapter 5

Mira looked around. She looked around again. She closed her eyes and opened them again. No, this wasn't right, this had to be a dream. The green sheet stretched across the room like the horizon. Covering everything while at the same time not. And in the distance she could see the windows and curtains. They were so far away! A sudden feeling of dread and realization washed over Mira. The Coil. It was the only excuse for this.

She closed her eyes again and opened them, still hoping for it to be a dream. But it wasn't, it felt too real. She knew it was really happening, everything was too real. "Kyouma!" She screamed. "Kyouma! Where are you?!" She was sure her voice hadn't carried out of the room. Maybe not past her own lips.

She waited, closing her eyes again. When she opened her eyes again, the room had shifted. Now she was surrounded by walls barely a couple arm's length from each other. With a couch in the center. There was no way out of the room, so she just sat and waited.

A loud, echoing banging sound shook Mira awake, and in a fright she tried to gather her wits. Was that a car crash just outside? Was there still an outside? Her heart jumped into her throat as her vision blurred. She felt dizzy, and nothing looked quite right. She turned and swung her legs to get up off of the couch. But…something was wrong. The couch was now far larger, far more rugged, then it had been when she had closed her eyes for sleep state. She got clumsily to her feet, only to tumble over the edge of the couch into an abyss.

* * *

Kyouma woke up to a pounding headache and his arm sore and terribly numb. He gave a groan, trying to sit up but didn't get far before he collapsed back down. It felt like he had had a heck of a night. He rolled over into a sitting position to relieve some of the pressure on his arm and aching back. Then tried to recall what happened to him. He could recall going to a house with Mira...looking for some girl. Kate? Summer? Madeline? Something like that. Baby steps. Everything would come back in time.

Outside his forsaken head, he became aware of something metallic being shuffled about. Along with a soft sobbing...Mira!

He cautiously opened his eyes, hoping to get more clues of what had happened to him. The broken light coming through the shattered windows made his headache jump a level while he focused on his surroundings. He sat up fully, gasping when his left arm stung at the small motion. Looking down, he noticed his sleeves were gone, replaced by swollen and red skin decorated with shards of glass. _That's right...another game of throw Kyouma into the wall._

Looking over the rest of his body to see if there was any other pronounced injuries, Kyouma found a large wet gash on his forehead leading to his left eye. Still fresh, but the nanosuit was doing its job at least. Kyouma wondered how long he'd been out. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyouma caught sight of Mira, sprawled out next to the stairs. _Had she fallen?_

"Mira!" He cried out worriedly, carefully nudging the robot with a gloved hand. Mira gave no response to the voice or the nudge. Holding his breath, Kyouma gently pushed against one of her shoulders, rolling the girl over onto her back. He was relieved to discover that Mira was unharmed. At least physically.

Kyouma glanced around the room, realizing that whatever had attacked them might still be in the room. "Just hold on," he whispered to his partner's slumbering form, feeling protective of the robot. "I'm not going to let anything else happen to you." He carefully fitted his jacket around Mira, and lifted her into his arms bridal style. Keeping a watchful eye out for anything out of the ordinary, Kyouma slowly made his way back to the entrance of the house. He walked as carefully as possible, keeping his footsteps soft and even, not wanting to cause any more injuries to himself. Or make Mira's condition worse.

Finally reaching the car, Kyouma dropped his partner on the back seat. Where she gave a soft moan.

"Mira? You awake?"

At the sound of his voice, Mira bolted straight up, accidentally head-butting Kyouma and sending him slumping to his knees.

"I'm awake." Confused Mira looked around at her surroundings, then down at Kyouma. "Kyouma, why are we outside?"

There was a brief moment of silence as Kyouma struggled back to his feet, leaning against the car for support. _Well so much for healing…_

"We're outside the house. I went through the ground floor, and didn't find anything. So I went back to the living room to wait for you. It was weird though, there was a box on the table in front of the sofa. When I went to take a closer look at it, this woman in a white dress showed up and started giving me a tour of the fine china. That's it, I believe. I got knocked out. Then woke up to find you next to the stairs. Speaking of which, how did you get there?"

Mira shrugged. "I can't remember."

Kyouma nodded. "Can I ask one other thing?"

Mira nodded. She caught a note of apprehension in Kyouma's tone and frowned to herself.

Out of nowhere, he pointed to her chest.

"Kyouma!" She started, slapping away his hand.

"Wait. Please. Hear me out." He pointed to the rearview mirror. "What do you see?"

Confused, Mira was about to ask Kyouma what the heck he was talking about, but the words caught in her throat when something flashed in the mirror. She blinked, hoping her world would snap back to normal, but it didn't help. Nothing around her was making any sense. "What…"

She found herself sitting in the back of Kyouma's car, like she had done so many times before. But unlike all those times. There was an added addition. Around her neck hung a necklace. A golden one with a small bird enveloped by a circle. Upon closer inspection, the bird had three spikes piercing it from the head down to its tail. Unlike most necklaces, it didn't hang from her neck. But more was imprinted into her chest. Causing lines of yellow to stretch out below it in a half-circle that went from shoulder to shoulder.

She felt her breathing speed up the moment she looked back at the mirror. Mira stumbled backwards, trying to put space in between her and...and… "K-Kyouma…?" She gasped out, still in shock and unable to process everything.

Mira tried to steady her breathing, not wanting to let Kyouma know just how freaked out she was. "Wha-What? How? What happened?" She found herself demanding, mostly to break the uncomfortable silence that was stretching out between them.

Kyouma got into the driver's seat before answering. "I'm not sure." He looked out of the windshield. "Do you remember what happened before you got knocked out? Something that might have caused this? Were you attacked by the same woman?" He asked her softly, afraid of scaring her worse than she already was.

Closing her eyes, Mira shut out the world around her to try and get her mind off how FREAKING WRONG everything was and brought her attention back to her...problem.

Kyouma inspected the necklace, eyebrows furrowed. He frowned as he leaned forward, eyes narrowed. Mira couldn't stop herself from squirming around uneasily at the scrutiny. His eyes were only a few inches away. Uncomfortable with her friend's proximity, Mira kept her eyes glued on the roof. She was so, so far outside her comfort zone right now.

Kyouma leaned back again, giving her some breathing room. "What do you think?"

Pulling with both hands, Mira tried to tug the necklace off with all her strength. It didn't budge. "It won't come off."

"It's definitely a distinctive piece of jewelry. Did you see anything written on the back before you put it on?"

"I didn't put it on, Kyouma. It just appeared there." Mira couldn't hide the annoyance from her voice. What did Kyouma take her for?

He nodded. Turning back in his seat, he pulled the car back onto the road.

Mira sat back against the back seat with a sigh. She hoped they were able to find a solution quick.


End file.
